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M S Y S A R E C R E AT I O N A L H A N D O U T
GAMES VS. PRACTICE
Player Development
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10 ,0 0 0 R U L E
youth Soccer
Practice vs Games: The impact on individual player
development by Tom Turner, Ohio Youth Soccer
Association North
Game s vs p r a ct i c e
occer is a long-term
athletic development
sport, requiring
approximately 10,000 hours of
training to reach a level of
excellence. Before the modern
era, in the days when free play
was the normal path to
competence, youngsters would
regularly compete in soccer
activities for 2-3 hours a day,
seven days a week. It was not
uncommon for enthusiastic kids to
log 10-20 hours of soccer per
week in isolated skill
development and in unstructured
games of varying configurations
with players of varying ages.
S
In practical terms, conservatively
assuming ten months of soccer
and only 15 hours per week,
10,000 hours of training would
take around 14 years to
accumulate. In all countries
around the world, the top young
professionals typically break into
their club’s first team in their late
teens or early 20’s and reach their
prime by their mid- to late-20’s.
For the top goalkeepers, the
learning curve is much slower and
many compete well into their
30’s.
MSYSA
The Maryland State youth Soccer
Association is dedicated to the
development of coaches and players
across the state. When one becomes a
better coach, it translates into better
training for the players. the better the
training the quicker players develop.
Coaching Education
The mission of the MSYSA Educational
Program is to provide the most current
and advanced information on the growth
and development of the youth players.
MSYSA provides the following coaching
educational courses for coaches:
Youth Modules 1, 2, 3
USSF E
USSF D
National Youth License
For more information on coaching
education visit the MSYSA website.
Level
Game Form Game Roster
Game Time
Active Time Ave. Participation
Ave. Playing Time
Professional
11 vs 11
90 min.
63 mins
2.25 mins
14
I
n the American soccer
environment, it is not
uncommon for aspiring
young players to compete in over
100 games during the calendar
year; invariably at the expense of a
sound long-term individual training
program designed around the
principles of the 10,000 hour rule.
Many adults and coaches believe
that game play is more important
than training at the youth level.
The numbers say otherwise....
A top-level professional soccer
match lasts 90 minutes. Each team
is allowed a maximum of three
substitutions. Once a player leaves
the field, they cannot return. The
“active” time, when the ball is in
Level
78%
live play, is approximately 70% of
the game time. Each player is in
direct contact with the ball for an
average of just over two minutes.
The corresponding numbers for
youth games are noted below.
Game Time Active Time Game Form Max Roster
Ave Participation
Ave Time Possession
U10
50 mins
35 mins
6 vs 6
12
50%
1.46 mins
U12
60 mins
42 mins
8 vs 8
14
57%
1.50 mins
U14
70 mins
49 mins
11 vs 11
18
61%
1.36 mins
U16
80 mins
56 mins
11 vs 11
18
61%
1.56 mins
U18
90 mins
63 mins
11 vs 11
18
61%
1.75 mins
Level
Game Time
Active Time
U10
50 mins
35 mins
Game Form Player to Ball Ave Participation Ave Time Ration
Possession
6 vs 6
12:1
100%
2.92 mins
U12
60 mins
42 mins
8 vs 8
16:1
100%
2.63 mins
U14
70 mins
49 mins
11 vs 11
22:1
100%
2.23 mins
U16
80 mins
56 mins
11 vs 11
22:1
100%
2.55 mins
U18
90 mins
63 mins
11 vs 11
22:1
100%
2.86 mins
ssuming maximum game
rosters for each age group
and also assuming equal
playing time, the figures
show that playing 100 youth games
per season produces a maximum of
around 175 minutes of ball
possession. At the professional
level, playing 100 games in a
season would only raise the average
to around 225 minutes.
A
The table below highlights the
value of training. Well organized
youth training sessions maximize
ball contact and provide players
with repeated exposure to standard
game situations.
The figures demonstrate that
players can routinely enjoy more
than 20 minutes of ball possession
Even for the very best players who
rarely leave the field, the average
Training Activity
time of possession is still less than
3 minutes per game; or less than
300 minutes per 100-game season!
Player: Ball Ave Time
Ratio
in just under two hours; and the 300
minutes of maximum ball
possession for
the top players can be achieved in
approximately fourteen wellorganized training sessions, which
would take just over a month.
Stated another way, attending well
planned training sessions for SIX
MONTHS can produce the same
number of ball possessions as SIX
YEARS of playing 100 games per
season.
Active Participation
Ave Time Possession
Warm-­‐up Free play (3 vs 3) 6:1
15 mins
100%
2,5 mins
Individual Skill Development1:1
15 mins
100%
7.5 mins
2 vs 2 Ladder
4 vs 1
4:1
100%
5 mins
4 vs 4 Games
8 vs 1
30 mins
100%
3.75 mins
30 mins
100%
2.5 mins
Game form practice 6 vs 6 / 16:1
8 vs 8 /11 vs 11
Total average time of possession
In the Games vs Practices Debate over Long-Term
Individual Development: Who’s Kidding Who?
21.25 mins
Author, Tom Turner,
Director of Coaching
for OYSAN